Western Notes: Harris, Blake, Babbitt
Earlier today, the Lakers notified guard Manny Harris that they do not plan to retain him beyond his second 10-day contract, tweets Bill Oram of the OC Register. We noted yesterday that L.A. wasn’t expected to keep Harris on board with a trio of the team’s point guards returning to the lineup.
Aside from a sensational 18-point, 6-for-9 shooting performance against the Knicks a little over a week ago, Harris’ numbers have been underwhelming through his eight game stint for the most part, averaging 6.8 PPG on 33.9% shooting overall and 29.4% from long distance in 19.9 MPG. However, as we speak, the 6’5 guard is leading the Lakers with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting at halftime against the Timberwolves tonight, and although he might not be on the team tomorrow, Harris is putting together a compelling audition for potential suitors.
Here are some more links to share out of the Western Conference tonight:
- In response to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders’ tweet that the Lakers would look to shed another $3MM in the form of Jordan Hill, Steve Blake, or Chris Kaman in a potential Pau Gasol deal, fellow Basketball Insiders writer Eric Pincus (via Twitter) says that L.A. would actually like to keep Blake beyond this season.
- Despite Russian-based team Nizhny Novgorod’s initial plan to hold Luke Babbitt to his contractual obligations and prevent him from signing with an NBA team, Pelicans GM Dell Demps managed to negotiate a buyout agreement that took two weeks to get finalized, reports John Reid of NOLA.com. New Orleans head coach Monty Williams is hopeful that Babbitt can be a contributor right away: “We thought having some more depth at our wing spot and there’s a chance he can play some four (power forward) because of his ability to shoot the ball..He’s a young player who had some success in Portland and played really well overseas. We kept our eye on him and have been trying to get it done for a couple of weeks, maybe a little bit longer. Finally it happened for us.”
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shared his thoughts with Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW on current Grizzlies guard and former Mavs draft pick Nick Calathes, who is expected to start in place of the injured Mike Conley when the two teams meet Wednesday night. Dallas reportedly dealt Calathes in order to create a roster spot for Gal Mekel: “They’re similar players…We went that direction and at that point it made no sense to hold onto Calathes’ rights. They both have gotten much better since they got into the NBA. I’m happy for Nick. And we like Gal. It wouldn’t make any sense to have both of them here.”
- So far, the 2013/14 season may not have always been ideal as one would hope for Samuel Dalembert, who on separate occasions this season has been called out by Carlisle for lack of conditioning and being undisciplined on the court. In another piece for SportsDayDFW, Sefko notes that with his recent 18-point, eight rebound, and 7-for-8 shooting performance against the Cavaliers, the 32-year-old center is slowly regaining the trust from everyone on the team, including Carlisle, who doesn’t appear to have any choice at this point but to ride Dalembert as much as he can.
Latest On Suns, Lakers, Pau Gasol
8:10pm: The Lakers don’t believe that the talks with the Suns about Gasol are over, and discussions with Phoenix and other teams are expected to continue through February 20, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
7:49pm: The Suns have halted talks with the Lakers regarding Gasol because L.A. reportedly wants too much in return, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Of the four first-round picks that Phoenix could possibly own this year, the Lakers were said to have been pushing for either the pick owed from Minnesota (top 13-protected) or Washington (top 12-protected. The other two draft choices the Suns have at their disposal include their own (currently projected at 22nd overall) and Indiana’s (now 30th).
Talks could resume before the February 20 deadline, but there needs to be a compromise on which first round pick the Lakers would receive in a Gasol deal, tweets Bresnahan.
8:13am: The Lakers and Suns spoke again Monday about the idea of a swap of Pau Gasol for Emeka Okafor, but the Suns want to see how Gasol’s recovery from a strained groin progresses before furthering the talks, report Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Spanish center is set to miss the next three games. If such a trade were to happen, it wouldn’t take the Lakers completely out of tax territory, so they’d insist on receiving draft picks or young players along with Okafor.
Still, the Lakers don’t feel they absolutely must avoid the tax this season, and even if they decide to do so, they believe trading Gasol isn’t their only path out of tax territory, as Shelburne and Stein write. That’s been their belief since last month, when they were involved in negotiations with the Cavs about trading for Andrew Bynum. The Lakers and Cavs have stayed in touch about Gasol in the time since, but there’s nothing imminent on that front, according to the ESPN report. The Lakers expect the market for Gasol to improve closer to the deadline, but they’re all right with holding on to him and retaining the flexibility that his nearly $19.3MM expiring contract will give them in the summer.
The Suns are willing to trade multiple 2014 first-round picks for a star player, but they realize such a talent is unlikely to become available before the deadline, Shelburne and Stein note. Thus, Gasol intrigues Phoenix, since he’s a veteran who could help the team’s playoff drive without cutting into this summer’s cap space.
Draft Rumors: Embiid, Exum
Here’s the latest we’ve come across regarding the 2014 NBA Draft:
- Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com (via Jeff Goodman of ESPN) tweets that Kansas center Joel Embiid is leaning toward staying another year in school. If true, this significantly impacts the 2014 draft, as the 7’0 big man has been projected by some to be the number one overall pick in June.
- In a piece for Zagsblog, Zagoria mentions that there are some sources close to the Kansas program who believe that Embiid would prefer to stay in school, although they also think the opportunity to play in the NBA next year may eventually be too great to pass up.
- In that same article, NBA analyst Greg Anthony tells Zagoria that he thinks Embiid should return to Kansas for another season: “(Joel’s) instincts aren’t where you want them to be. At (the NBA) level, they don’t teach, they coach…Our league drafts potential, it doesn’t draft a polished, finished product. I think a lot of these kids are really, really good and really talented but a lot of them could use another year.”
- Anthony applied the same logic to other heralded collegiate freshmen, including Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Aaron Gordon: “I would say that Jabari’s probably the most polished of all of them…And listen, it’s gonna be hard for them not to come out, I get that part. But it wouldn’t hurt any of them to come back to school…I’m a proponent of guys being able to come out of high school. I think these kids are more talented than the draft we had a year ago, but you want them to be a little bit more polished when they come here.
- Prospective 2014 lottery pick Dante Exum made it recently known that he’d like to be drafted by the Lakers next June, getting the ball rolling on speculation that his representation might try to find a way to dissuade undesired teams from drafting him. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders doesn’t put any faith into the idea that Exum’s agent can force the Australian point guard’s way to Los Angeles, adding that the rookie contract scale removes a lot of power out of the agent’s hands during the draft process. Overall, Kyler believes Exum’s comment has been blown out of proportion and warns not to read into it too much at this point, especially since Exum has yet to meet with a single team (All Twitter links).
Odds & Ends: Gasol, Pelicans, Buyers/Sellers
Earlier today, we heard that the Suns’ interest in continuing talks with the Lakers about a potential Pau Gasol deal hinges on the 7’1 Spaniard’s recovery from a strained groin injury. With news from InsideSoCal.com’s Mark Medina that Gasol’s rehab will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks, this most likely creates another hurdle in trying to complete a potential deal.
Here’s plenty more from around the Association:
- Kevin Ding of the Bleacher Report (via Twitter) says that because of the injury, Gasol may or may not have played his final game for the Lakers. One certainty, however, is that the Lakers are now more motivated to deal him than before.
- The Pelicans have been “extremely active” in trade talks over the past few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unclear exactly what sort of deals they’re working on, but they announced last night that center Jason Smith is lost for the season, and they’ve reportedly been seeking a trade for a big man.
- Regardless of whether or not Andrew Bynum can produce for the Pacers, the decision to bring him aboard represents a pledge from team management to the players that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship, says Jared Zwerling of the Bleacher Report.
- In the same piece, Zwerling lists several teams who could be among the league’s buyers and sellers at the trade deadline this season, labeling the 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, Lakers and Bulls are potential sellers, while the Bobcats, Warriors, Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Mavericks, and Pistons are potential buyers. According to one executive, the Timberwolves and Nuggets could fall into either group depending on what transpires in the next week or so.
- Cedevita of Croatia has waived Josh Selby after the former Grizzlies guard suffered an injury, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Selby played 10 games in the NBA last season.
- The NBDL’s Texas Legends’ close proximity to their NBA-affiliate Mavericks has made it easy for both to enjoy a highly active partnership as far as developing the Mavs’ young players, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Frisco, Texas – where the Legends are based – is located about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, conveniently allowing the Mavs an option to send someone to play for the Legends one night and then head back for NBA practice the next day.
- The 76ers announced that they’ve assigned big man Arnett Moultrie and guard Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have sent guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL, according to a team press release earlier this afternoon.
- The Celtics announced that center Vitor Faverani was assigned to their D-League affiliate Maine Red Claws earlier today.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Suns, Nets, Celtics, Ariza
The Suns are exploring their trade options with Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, but if they use it to bring in Pau Gasol or another player via trade, Jeff Hornacek insists it won’t be someone who’ll disrupt the locker room, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic observes.
“Our guys have great chemistry,” Hornacek said. “If they ever do anything to bring a guy in here, that guy is going to have to figure out what makes us good chemistry-wise, and he’s going to have to fit in. That’s like every team.”
Here’s more from around the league, with two weeks and two days to go until the trade deadline:
- Nets GM Billy King isn’t looking to trade injured Brook Lopez, but he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that he’s open to deals that would bring draft picks to Brooklyn.
- The Celtics are high on Chris Johnson, though Boston’s proximity to the tax line may keep the team from re-signing him for the season when his second 10-day deal expires Thursday night, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines.
- Trevor Ariza is performing well in a contract year, and the Wizards will probably make a strong push to re-sign him, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com heard a couple of weeks ago that the Bucks are unlikely to pull off a major deadline trade, but in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” piece, he says they’d like to acquire a young player or a first-round draft pick in exchange for their veterans.
- In the same piece, Ford suggests the Magic are making Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis available.
- Draft prospect Dante Exum would prefer to play for the Lakers, and Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders wonders if agent Rob Pelinka would try to use the threat of Exum playing next season overseas to dissuade other teams from drafting him.
- The city of San Francisco received a signed petition that proposes a vote on regulations that would erect a hurdle to the Warriors‘ plans for an arena in the city. The San Jose Mercury News has the details.
How Gasol-Okafor Deal Would Work Financially
The Suns are an NBA rarity at this point in the season, with approximately $5.25MM in cap space. Most other clubs are over the cap, and the few that aren’t don’t have quite as much room to spare. Cap space is useful for many reasons, and as the trade deadline approaches, teams with this sort of flexibility can absorb costly players in lopsided swaps.
The Suns are in talks with the Lakers about trading Emeka Okafor and his $14,487,500 salary to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, who makes $19,285,850. There’s a gulf of $4,798,350 between their salaries, but that’s less than the amount of cap space the Suns have available, so Phoenix could shoehorn Gasol’s inflated deal into its payroll and still have room left over.
Reporters have frequently cited Phoenix’s cap space as the reason why such a trade is possible, but the teams could still do a one-for-one swap of Gasol and Okafor even if Phoenix uses all or part of its cap space on someone else. In spite of the wide difference between the salaries that Gasol and Okafor make, they still fit within the league’s salary-matching rules for capped-out teams. When a team makes a trade for a player making between $9.8MM and $19.6MM that takes it more than $100K over the cap, the incoming salary must be no more than $5MM greater than what it sends out. The Suns would be taking on Gasol’s salary, and that’s less than $5MM more than what Okafor makes.
It’s reasonable to suspect this caveat might come into play. The negotiations about such a deal appear to be in the early stages, and both teams have their reservations about it. The Suns, looking to upgrade their roster for a run at the playoffs, might trade a player other than Okafor — perhaps Channing Frye — to a team other than the Lakers if they fear that L.A. won’t pull the trigger. The Suns can do this with the knowledge that they could still make the Gasol-Okafor deal if the Lakers decide in the end that they’re willing. So, the Lakers can’t gain leverage by holding up Phoenix’s pursuits outside of an Okafor deal.
The only sort of deal the Suns could do that would prevent a one-for-one exchange of Gasol and Okafor, other than a trade that sends Okafor to another team, of course, would be one that puts Phoenix’s payroll above $70,949,650. Adding the difference between Gasol’s salary and Okafor’s to that amount would bring the Suns to the $75.748MM tax apron. The salary-matching restrictions are more severe for trades that would take a team above the apron. In that case, Gasol’s salary could be no larger than 125% plus $100K of what the Suns would give up to get him. Okafor’s salary wouldn’t cut it in this circumstance.
Still, it’s highly unlikely the Suns, with a payroll of about $53.4MM, would draw anywhere close to the apron between now and the deadline. So, Phoenix president of basketball operations Lon Babby and GM Ryan McDonough have plenty of options, and they don’t need to wait for the Lakers to make up their minds. If negotiations break their way, the Suns are in a position to make multiple significant trades before the deadline.
Note: Gasol’s contract includes a 15% trade kicker, but it’s meaningless, since no player can collect on a trade kicker if it would push his salary beyond the maximum salary for a player of his experience. Gasol already makes more than the max for players with 10 or more years of experience, so his trade kicker is null and void.
ShamSports, Basketball Insiders and Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ were used in the creation of this post.
Odds & Ends: Stuckey, Harris, Barbosa
Rodney Stuckey is concerned that the Pistons “aren’t on the same page” as their woes continue this season, but he’s not ruling out returning to Detroit when his contract expires at season’s end. “Detroit is always an option,” he told Sam Amick of USA Today. “It’s going to be a tough situation, the first time I’m going to be able to go out and test the market and see what else is there and what not. It’s going to be all new to me. I’m excited for the opportunity, but right now I’m not trying to focus on that. I’m just trying to live in the moment right now and worry about making the playoffs first and foremost.” More from around the Association..
- The Lakers aren’t expected to retain Manny Harris after his 10-day contract expires tomorrow, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. Unfortunately for Harris, his contract’s end coincides with multiple Lakers point guards returning to action. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles wrote yesterday that Shawne Williams is a player worth keeping an eye on once that roster spot is freed up.
- Suns guard Leandro Barbosa battled his way back from an ACL injury after many had written him off, writes Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) runs down guys that have been identified as trade candidates by basketball people around the league. The rather lengthy list includes Chris Singleton of the Wizards and Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez who is already well-traveled.
- Evan Turner has been all over Hoops Rumors lately, but he’s not letting the trade talk get to him, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media. “I don’t read the papers. If I did, I’d have my bags packed for different weather,” said the Sixers forward.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown says the club will “keep an eye” on Dewayne Dedmon, Moore tweets. Philadelphia elected not to re-sign Dedmon after his second 10-day pact expired.
Suns Considering Deal For Pau Gasol
4:00pm: The main reason the teams haven’t agreed on a deal involving Gasol is that the Lakers want a pick for this year’s draft that would be higher than what the Suns currently have to offer, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Phoenix could have as many as four picks, but the best of them would come in at only No. 17 right now. The Lakers are also in the exploratory stage with other teams about deals, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
MONDAY, 10:36am: In confirming Stein’s report, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says the Suns and Lakers have indeed spoken about a Gasol-Okafor swap, a detail that wasn’t initially clear. The discussion is just one of many exploratory talks in which the Suns have engaged, Coro writes.
SUNDAY, 4:41pm: The Suns are exploring the feasibility of a trade for Lakers big man Pau Gasol, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Of course, the big man is on an expiring contract and earning ~$19.3MM for the year.
The Lakers have reportedly been adamant about not compromising their future cap flexibility in any deal for Gasol. As Stein notes, the Suns could use the $14.5MM expiring contract of injured big man Emeka Okafor to get a deal done. Even though there’s a significant gap between their salaries, there’s a disparity of less than $5MM and the deal wouldn’t put the Suns over the tax apron so it would be kosher under the CBA.
The 33-year-old is no stranger to criticism but he has performed reasonably well in the face of another year that’s been chock full of trade rumors. Gasol is averaging 17.0 PPG and 10.2 RPG with a PER of 19.1 that puts him No. 12 among centers. It’s not his best work, but the Spaniard still has plenty to contribute to a contender.
The Okafor idea sounds like it could be of interest to the Lakers, but they had a similar opportunity earlier this year when the Cavs were dangling the contract of Andrew Bynum. The Lakers reportedly backed away from those talks and insisted on getting an impact player in exchange for Gasol.
Pacific Notes: Williams, Warriors, Brooks
Sasha Vujacic has been on the Clippers’ radar for quite some time now and it looks like they’re finally on the verge of signing him. The veteran guard has already undergone a physical and he is expected to be in a Clippers jersey tomorrow night when Blake Griffin & Co. take on the Nuggets. The move will give L.A. some extra reinforcements as Chris Paul is sidelined with a separated shoulder. More out of the Pacific..
- With Manny Harris‘ second 10-day deal set to lapse and Pau Gasol still on the mend, don’t be surprised to see the Lakers give Shawne Williams another look, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Williams is right around the corner from the Lakers after recently hooking on with the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
- The Warriors are putting their plans for a gorgeous new stadium in San Francisco on hold by about a year (and possibly longer), write Philip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle. Recently, Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob acknowledged that it would be tough for the club to get to their new home by the original target of 2017.
- Speaking of the Warriors, they announced that they have recalled Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League. Both players were assigned to Santa Cruz on Saturday and participated in the team’s 110-105 victory over the Bakersfield Jam at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. Bazemore registered a game-high 25 points, along with three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in 33 minutes, while Brooks added six points, two assists, one rebound and a steal in 22 minutes. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
Lakers Notes: Lottery, Gasol, D’Antoni
The Lakers are in the midst of a tough season, and their long-term prospects aren’t that bright. The team currently has the sixth-worst record in the league at 16-31, and are not even close to being in the playoff hunt in the tough Western Conference. The Lakers have been down as a franchise before. There have been a couple of stretches since the early 1990’s where the team wasn’t in contention for a title. Rebuilding doesn’t happen overnight, but Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times has a five-point plan to fix the team:
- First, the Lakers need to finish the season with the worst possible record that they can, so they can benefit from a higher lottery pick. A big part of achieving this goal would be to convince Kobe Bryant to take it easy on his minutes when and if he returns this season. Losing more could mean the difference between the sixth pick and the third pick in the upcoming draft. Those three spots could be the gap between drafting a true franchise changing talent, or just a good rotation player.
- Bolch also says the team needs to move Pau Gasol before the trade deadline. This would allow the team to get something for him, rather than letting him leave after the season for nothing in return. The team could try to flip him to a contender for some expiring contracts and a draft pick.
- He also believes the team should cut ties with coach Mike D’Antoni. Bolch wants the team to aim high, and try to lure Phil Jackson out of retirement, or someone like George Karl, or Jeff Van Gundy, coaches who have had success in the playoffs, and are more adaptable to their personnel.
- Bolch doesn’t think the team should try to change their entire roster after the season. He believes players like Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, and Nick Young have value. All three players can be key role-players, and the team should be able to retain them without breaking the bank. He also thinks that if Steve Nash doesn’t retire, the Lakers should use the stretch provision and waive him.
- Lastly, Bolch thinks the team should be wary of the free agent market. If they strike out on LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, then they would be better off enduring another down season and going after Kevin Love or Kevin Durant the following year. This would be preferable to signing lesser players to bad deals that would hinder their salary cap for future moves.